Method and apparatus for data encoding with reserved values
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsLawrence A. Ray, Richard N. Ellson
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Abstract
In a string of characters on a storage medium in which a normally reserved character can appear in an inappropriate position, the field of characters is examined for a character which is not used in the field. The inappropriate reserved character is replaced by the permissible character. A field in the character string is reserved to permit the permissible character to be translated into the reserved character after the decoding of the character string.
Claims11
A method for replacing a reserved character in a character string, with a permitted character, said method comprising the steps of:
- identifying a reserved character in said character string;
- identifying a permitted unused character which is not present in said character string;
- and
- replacing every instance of said reserved character with said permitted unused character.
A method of decoding an encoded character string in which at least one reserved character has been replaced by a permitted character, said permitted character being a character which is not present in said character string before the character string was encoded, said method comprising the steps of:
- using a replacement signal segment from a predetermined portion of said encoded character string to identify each permitted character which has replaced a reserved character;
- and
- replacing said permitted character with said reserved character in accordance with said replacement signal segment.
A transaction card comprising:
- a storage material having an identifiable pattern stored thereon, said pattern identifying a sequence of characters;
- wherein said storage pattern includes a replacement signal segment identifying a replacement character in said sequence of characters which replaced an associated reserved character.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.